Adjustable skate



Feb. 13, 1940.

F. A. HARRIS ADJUSTABLE SKATE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 24, 1938 1 ENTOR. I

ATTORNEY.

Feb. 13, 1940. F. A. HARRIS ADJUSTABLE SKATE Filed Jan. 24, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY 1 v ATTORNE F NVENTOR $6M- QV Feb. 13, HARR|$ 2,190,316

ADJUSTABLE SKATE Filed Jan. 24, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 1N VENTOR.

Mad

W ATTORNEY.

Filed Jan. 24, 1938 Sheets-Sheet 4 7 ware INVENTOR.

Feb. 13, 1940. HARms I 2,190,316

ADJUSTABLE SKATE Filed Jan. 24, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

WWMQM,

Feb. 13, 1940. v 'F. A. HARRIS I ADJUSTABLE SKATE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Jan. 24-, 1938 Feb. 13, 1940. A fils. 2,190,316

ADJUSTABLE SKATE Filed Jan; 24, 1958 a Sheets-Sheet 7 v INVENTOR.

BYKMQM Feb. 13, 1940. A, H RR s 2,190,316

ADJUSTABLE SKATE Filed Jan 24, 1938 -8 Sheets-Sheet 8 By IINVENTQRH .ATTORN Patentec lFeb. 13,1940 h r a 251M316 UNITED" STATES PATIEN ptics- 2,190,316 v ADJUSTABLE SKATE v Fredric Harris, Des Moines, Iowa I Application January 24-, 1938, Serial No. 186,589

4 Claims. (Cl. 280-1126) The principal object of my invention is to pro- Fig. 4 is an enlarged bottom plan view of one vide av skate that is capable of great flexibility of the shoe sole engaging lugs. f from the standpoint of assembly, adjustment and Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of one of the relative positioning of its various component. shoe sole engaging lugs. 5 parts.v Y Fig. 6 is an enlarged end plan view of the equi-' 5' More specifically, the object of this invention is distant 111g. I to provide a skate composed of a plurality of Fig. 7 is an enl d s d w Of the u co-operative units that are capable of being tant lug more fully illustrating Fig. 6. quickly and'eas'ily adjusted to meet the'demands Fig. 8 is an enlarged topplan View of the 'of any skating condition or situation and also rame Chassis b O y Skate-1 i 10 that may b easily and quickly dj t d to fit Fig. 9 is an enlarged end sectional View of the the shoes of the user. 1 chassis bar taken on'the line 99 of Fig. 8.

A still further object of this invention is to Fig. 10 is a side sectional view of the chassis provide a skate having a single elongated base bar W th two W ee s pivetally attached e e 'chassis upon which all of the various other parts andv eW ng a method for yieldingly e of the skate are slidably supported and-secured. the Wheels- I v A still further object of my invention is to 5 an enlarged bottem pl nv iew Ofone provide a skate capable of employing aplurality 0f the Wheel Supporting brackets a d'ee te i' of wheels which may be adjustably arranged into Springsa j i Y I p various combinations and positions relative to 12 is an enlarged from 101all View Of the 20 themselves and the skate platform. Wheel acket Shown in v A still further objeat of my invention is to Fig. 13 is an enlarged perspective View of a provide a skate that has substantially its "entire porlflon 0f the Centermg Sprmg assembly.

component units stamped from sheet material Fig-l 14 15 an enlarged top plan vl-ew of one 9f one that may beassembled or adjusted by the bearing and holding bolts for securing the 5 the use of a single Wrench; Y I wheel hanger to the chassis frame.

A still further object of this invention is to 15 15 an enlargee end Y of t provide a skate having readily interchangeable bealfmg m holdl-ng lugs shown'm lparts and which can be used either experts Fig. 16 is an enlarged bottom plan View of the or unskilled persons being readily adaptable to all types of wheeled or runner variations.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a skate whereby any number of attache,

rnents may be purchased separately by the user in order to convert the skate to fit the users own particular needs. 3 1 bent A stlu m of i mvfantlon 18 to Fig. 19 is an enlarged side sectional view of the Vlde skate mat m manufacture toe plate and a portion of'the chassis bar showdurable in use, efficient and refined 1n appearmg the method e g the toe plate in tached.

Fig. 1'7 is an enlarged development of the blank used for forming the engaging lugs and guide. track secured'to the'toe plate.

one of the engaging lug platesafter it has been ance place relative to the chassis bar.

These andother ob ects W111 be app t 'Fig '20. is an'enlarged end sectional view'o those skflled m the the resilient hangeror carriage used with the Mil-invention consists in the construction, ardouble wheels ofvmy device *rangement and combination of the various parts toe plate of my skate with the guide track at- Fig. 18 is an enlarged" end sectional view of Fig. 21 is an enlarged viewof the development of the devlce whereby the ObJects contemplatedof the blank'used for making the upper housing are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, of thecarriage shown Fig pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the Fig, 22 is enlarged endyview of theupper accompanying drawings, in which: housing It its proper content I I F 1% 1 1s a slde plan View of my complete Skate Fig. 23 is an enlarged side view of the upper 50" showing one of the wheel arrangements. housing Shown inFig 22 3 Fig. 2 is a top plan view of my complete skate Fig.2! is an enlarged partial sectional view' of more fully illustrating its construction. the housing and spleen showing the relationship Fig. 3 is an'enlarged front plan view of the ofthe parts and more" fully illustrating its- I 5f'skate shown in Fig. 1. construction.

, allocating the positions of the wheels.

, Fig. is an enlarged end view of the spleen member 'or inside housing shown in Fig. 24.

Fig. 26 is an enlarged top plan view of the blank used for forming the housing shown in Fig. 25. Fig. 27 is an enlarged top plan view of the lower housing more fully illustrating its construction.

Fig. 28 is an enlarged side plan view of the blank used for centering or forming the spacing spleen of my device.

Fig. 29 is an enlarged side' sectional View of the carriage showing the various attitudes in which it may be positioned.

Fig. 30 is an enlarged rear end view of the heel plate and socket member of my device.

Fig. 31 is an enlarged end sectional view of a portion of the heel socket showing the strap engaging button.

Fig. 32 is an enlarged end view of the wheel hanger used with a wider widthwheel than that shown in Fig. l.

.Fig. 33 is an enlargedbottom sectional viewiof the hanger shown in Fig. 32.

Fig. 34.- is a bottom plan view of the chassis with double wheels mounted forward and rear.

Fig. 35 .is a bottom plan view of the chassis showing an alternate wheel arrangement with one wheel at-the front and two wheels at the rear.

Fig. 36 is a bottom plan view .of the chassis showing it with two wheels mounted thereon and in line with each other.

Fig. 37 is a side plan view of a modified form of a chassis having thereon, a raised "portion upon which the heel plate of the skate :may be attached.

Fig. 38 is aside plan view ,of my device with an ice runner secured to the chassis in place of wheels.

Fig.3!) is an enlarged end sectional view-of the chassis bar and one of the blade holding hangers of Fig. 38. i

Fig. 40 is an enlarged plan View of the blan .used for securing the runner of the ice skate to herebefore offered to the public are that they are greatly limited from an adjustment standpoint and what little adjustment they do have is relative to the width of the .shoe .of the user.

This means that there" must be va separate .pair of skates for substantially each shoe length. In the wheel skate, thereis .nomeans of .adjus tably Furthermore, an individual cannot use roller .skates on ice, nor can one use the blade or ice skates on pavements or floors. Because of this, each'indii be. easily and quickly adjusted to zfit various lengths of shoes. My skate also permits univernates two wheel forks.

sal adjustment and positioning of the wheel assemblies. Referring to the drawings, I have, used the numeral Hi to designatethe chassis bar. It will used, it is obvious that one length of chassis bar will take care of a great number 'of shoe sizes.

The numeral ll designates a centrally located longitudinal :groove in the top of the'bar H? and extending its entire length. The numeral l2 designates an elongated slot opening in the bot tom center of the groove II as shown in Fig. 8; The numerals l3 and Hi designate the two outwardly extending flange edges on the two sides respectivelyof the bar it as shown in Fig. 9. The .slot opening 52 extends to points near the two-endsof the bar H1. The numeral l5 desig- The numerals it and-ll designate two ordinary bolts. extending through the upper portion of the fork 15 through the slot opening .l2.and with their nuts within the groove I H. as'shown in Fig, 19. Thenumeral i8 designates a wheel rotatably mounted in each of the backwardly on the'bar m.v When the proper desired position of these forks and wheels are obtained, the bolts 16 and H are tightened, thereby rigidly securing the forks-to the under side .of the bar ill. The depth of the .groove H is such thatthe nuts-of the-bolts .IB and ll will be substantially below the surface of the bar it,

thereby permitting other units slidably secured on the top ,of thebar'to be slidlbackwardly and.

forwardly without interference from these bolts. Likewise, the forks may be slid backwardly and forwardly when, the bolts are loosened without interfering with the other units of the skate positioned above the bar it). The forks and wheels just described may be considered asof standard structure and are used on my skate in various positions when desired. In Fig. 1, IJshow one such fork positioned near the forward end of the bar Hi and one fork positioned near the rear end of the bar l0.

Hereinafter, variations in construction, assembly and operations of forks and wheels will be described. In some instances, the user will wish to assemble the'skate so that there will be only one wheel at the forward end of thechassis bar and one wheel at the rear end of the chassis bar as shown in Fig. 36. The wheels may be of any spread to accommodate the wheels. In Fig. 36, I show wheels of greater thickness than in Fig. 3 and therefore, the forks have a wider 60 spread. I have designated the wheels shown in Fig. 36 by the numeral l9.

In Fig. 32, a wheel with a still greater thick ness is shown and I have designated this par-.

Thenumeral. 65 v ticular wheel by the numeral 29. EBdesignates any type of washer that maybe used-between the nuts of the bolts l6 and H and f the inside bottom of the channel groove H.

Various'methods may be employed to secure the forks [5 to the chassis bar and in Figs. 10 I show a method of securing the wheel forks to the chassis bar in such manner that the fork may-have limited rotation relative "to thechassis bar. I accomplish this by the use of a single bolt any desired width and also'the forks may be of in the top of the flat topped fork l and through the slot opening l2 in the samemanner asthe bolts lfijand' H. 'It differs, however, from the previously described bolts in that it has just above its head, a disk or washer portion 23'. This portion 23 rotatably engages the hole in the top of the fork l5 and has a heighth slightly greater This prevents a rotation of the bolt relative to and engage theslot opening l2.

the chassis bar. The numeral 25 designates a washer that may be used between the nut 22 and the upper surface of the bolt of the groove I I. The numeral 26 designates a split lug rigidly secured on the inside top of the fork l5 and longi-' tudinally of the top of the fork and just to the rear or to the "front of one of theholes in the fork |5 as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The numeral 21 designates a horizontal spring arm having one of its ends in the lug 26. This arm is rigidly held in position by a pin 28 or rivet which extends completely through the arm and the lug 26. The numeral 29 designates a finger round in crosssection rigidly secured at its lower end tothe free end of the arm 21. When these types of forks are secured to a chassis bar as shown in Fig. 10,'these fingers 29 will extend upwardly When such a construction is used, the forks l5 and their wheels may turn to the right or to the left relative to the longitudinal axis of the chassis bar, but such turning action relative to the bar will be against the action of the spring arms 21. With the finger 29 of the fork engaging a slot opening l2, the

fork and wheel will always be yieldingly held in a direct line with the chassis bar, but the skater can cause the turning of the fork. against the action of the spring arm when he desires to do so.

When the turning pressure is relieved by the skater, the arm 21 will bring the fork and wheel back to proper alignment with the chassis'bar.

One, two or more of these limited rotatingforks may be used on a single chassis bar. There are times when the user of my skate will not wish this limited rotary movement of, the fork and in Fig. 11, I show two holes in the fork. To look the fork against movement, it is merely necessary to insert an additional bolt through the extra provided hole and the slot opening in the chassis bar.

In most cases, double wheel assemblies will be tangular central portion which eventually be-' comes the top of the housing 30 and the numerals 33 and 34 designate the two sides of the housing. The numerals 35 and 36 designate the two end portions of the housing. The numeral 31 designates a hole in the portion 35 and the numeral 38' designates a hole in the portion 36. The numeral 39 designates a holedirectly'below the hole 31 and in the portion 35. The numeral 40 designates a hole directly below the'hole 38 and in the "portion 36. When the housing is formed,

these holes assume a position as shown in Fig. 24.

The numeral 4| designates bendable ears on I the two outer corners of the portions 35 and 36.

When the housing 30 is formed, these are bent upwardly to engage the side portions 33 and 34 as shown in Fig. 22 and Fig. 23. In order that the housing 30 will have neat top corners, I provided notches 42 in the portions33 and 34 as shown in Fig.21. The numeral 43 designates a U-member bent from comparatively wide sheet material as shown in Fig. 26. The numerals 44 and 45 designate two bendable fingers formed in each end of the member 43. This U-member normally loosely rests in a substantially extending position in the housing 30 as shown in'Fig. 24. The

housing 30, its two sides will be spaced apart from Y but adjacent the portions 35 and 35.

The numerals 41 and 43 designate two holes in the twosidesof the U-member 43 respectively. The numerals 49 and 5|] also designate two holes in the two side portions of the Umember 43 respectively, but these holes are positioned above the holes 41' and 48. The numeral 5| designates a spleen plate having fingers 52. These fingers 52 are bent into circles to provide a hearing as shown in Fig. 20. The member 5| normally rests within the U-member 43 in substantiallya vertical position. It is held in such position by the claw members 44 bent inwardly to engage one of its sides and the claw members 45 also bent inwardly to engage the other side of the member 5| as shown 'in the-drawingsf By this arrangement of parts, the member 5| may be lowered or raised within the U-member 43 but is held at its upper end from lateral movement relative to the U member 43. pinv or axle capable of selectively extending through the holes 38, 43, 31 and 4| inthe housing 30, the holes 41,48, 49"and in the U-member 43 and through the bearing portion of the member 5|.

By this construction, the U-member 43 may be rotatably secured in a variety of positions relative to and on the housing 30. "By selecting the holes through which the member 53 extends, the

The numeral 53 designates a bearing 45 may be lowered or raised or slightly moved to left or. right as shown in Fig. 29. The numeral 54 designates a cotter key or like extending through the forward end of the pin 53. The numeral 55 designates a block of resilient material such as rubber or like inside the housing 30 and at one side of the member 5|. The numeral 56 designates a similar block of resilient material inside the housing 3|) and at the other side of the member 5| as shown in Fig. 20. These blocks of resilient material yieldingly hold the member 5| in a vertical position which in turn, yieldingly holds the U-member 43 in a vertical position and the hub 45 in a horizontal position. The. numeral 51 designates an axle extending through the hub bearing 45 for rotatably holding the wheel It at eachside of the member 46. One of the preferred assemblies of my skate is shown in Fig. 1, wherein a single wheel is positioned near the forward end, a single wheel near the rear end, and a double wheel between the two single wheels. By adjusting in the same plane as the single wheels.

the position of the pin '53 through the housing 30 1 meral 58 designates the toe plate or platform having three spaced apart holes 59 along its longitudinal center. The numeral 60 designates a bolt selectively extending through either of the holes 59 and through the slot opening 12 as shown in Fig. 19 for rigidly securing the plate 53 against sliding movement on the upper surface of the chassis bar. The numeral iii designates an elongated flange secured by suitable means to the bottom of the platform 58 and which extends downwardly and then inwardly to embrace and engage the flange edge l3 of the chassis bar. A similar member 62 is secured to the under side of the platform 58 for embracing and engaging the flange M of the chassis bar. With the bolt 68 loosened, the platform 58 may be moved forwardly or backwardly on the chassis bar. On each of the members $1 and 62 are three spaced apart downwardly extending lugs 63. Each of these lugs 63 have two directly opposed notches 64. The structure of the members 6! and 63 before being bent and formed, is shown in Fig. 17.

The numerals (i5 and 6B designate the two toe clamps, each having a slot 6'! for selectively engaging the notches 64 of any one of the lugs 63. By this arrangement, the toe clamps 65 and 66 may be moved forwardly or backwardly as desired on the platform 58. Each of the toe clamps 65' and 66 have their inner ends extending downwardly to form projections 68 and 69 as shown in Fig. 3. The numeral m designates a rod threaded through the portions 68 and 59. The threads of the rod Ill that engage the member 69, extend in an opposite direction from the threads of the rod that engage the member 68. By this construction when the rod H! is rotated in one direction, the toe clamps 65 and 66 will either be moved away from each other or toward each The rod 10 has its two end portions other. squared in cross-section to receive the ordinary key wrench. Such a key wrench has one end to fit the ends of the rod 10 and its other end'in the form of a socket wrench to fit all of the other 1 the toe clamps to positions at a right angle to their original positions at which time, they will drop downwardly free from their supporting lugs 63. The numeral H designates'an equalizing bar having a rectangular head 1'2, for slidable engagement with the groove l l of the chassis bar. member I! is rigidly secured to the chassis bar by bolt 13. The member fl is slotted at its lower end and this slotted portion engages a peripheral groove in the center of the length of the rod H! as shown in Fig. 3. By this arrangement, the rod 70 is held against sliding movement and the toe clamps will always be equal distance from the sides of the toe platform.

The numeral 14 designates the heel platform having a plurality of spaced apart holes 15 along its center length. This platform M is rigidly secured when desired, to the chassis bar by bolt 16 selectively passing through one of the holes 15 and through a slot opening I2 of the chassis bar. The numeral 1'! designates two spaced apart flanges secured to the bottom of the heel platform The nuto pavement or like use. I

skate may be desired having a raised heel portion or heel lift and when this is the case, the chassis by any suitable-means for embracingand :slidably engaging the flanges l3 and I4 of the chassis bar.

62 serve for the toe platform 58. Obviously, when the bolt 16 is loosened, the heel platform may be moved forwardly or backwardly on the chassis bar. When the desired position of the heel platform and toe platform are hadthe bolts 66] and 13 and 16 should be tightened. The numeral l8 designates a circular guard stop on the rear end portion of the heel platform I' l. guard 18 has two strap slot openings 19.

openings 19 are positioned at each side in the member l8 and extend at an angle to the vertical.

The numeral designates an elongated lug bot- These members 11 serve the same purposefor the heel platform that the members 6! and This These numeral 8! designates a skate strap having slit openings 82 for selectively engaging the lug but tons 80. By the removal of the bolts 68, 13-, and

moved from the chassis bar without interfering;

with or requiring the removal or displacement of any of the wheel assemblies on the chassis bar;

The wheel assemblies may beeasily and quickly removed or replaced in various combinations such as illustrated in the drawings.

If desired, a slotopening 83 may be provided in each of the members 68 and 69 as shown in Fig. 5, to permit the removal of the members (55 and (it by with-drawing them directly and free from the member 63.

When it is desired to use a blade runner for ice skating, it is merely necessary to remove the wheel assemblies'and slide the blade runners on to the chassis bar.

outwardly the chassis bar by the usual bolts l6 and I1.

These forks 84 are secured to the skate runner blade 85 as shown in Fig. 38 and Fig.39; In Figs.

41 and 42, I show the use of the tubular type ice skate. In these figures, I have designatedthe, fork portions by the numeral 86, the tube portion of the skate by the numeral 81 and the runner by the numeral 88.

As is well known, the member cured to the member 88. cured by any suitable means to the member 8?. The forks 86 are secured to the chassis. bar by the usual bolts l6 and l1.

} The numeral ,84 designates the forks which are secured against movement on 81 is rigidly se- The forks 86- are se--v From the foregoing, it will readily be seen that j I have provided a universally adjustable skate which may be easily and quickly c'hanged to meet any requirement, one that may be easily and quickly adjusted to fit different shoes and one This that may be easily and quickly changed from ice bar. may be bent as shown in Fig. 37. Inserts or In some instances, a.

other fill-ins may be used inside the member 18 to fit different sizes of shoe heels.

When a skate is used having one or more pairs of double wheels such as shown in Figs. 2, 34 and 35, the structure of the various unit parts with the resilient material 55 and 56 is of great advantage, inasmuch as a progressive resiliency is obtained for bringing the shaft 51 and skate platface but when the pressure is released by the skater, all parts will return to their normal positions by Virtue of the resilient pressure of either the members or 56 on the member 5!. other advantage of my'skate is its adjustability as to the location of the shoe clamps and 8% relative to the platform 58. By providing three pairs of spaced apart supporting lugs 63, three different positions may be selectively had. This makes possible the forwardly or rearwardly selec tive adjustable positioning of the shoe clamps and these adjustments are readily available to the skate operator.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my improved adjustable skate without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim: I

1. In a skate, an elongated chassis bar having an elongated longitudinal groove and an elongated slot opening in the center bottom of said elongated groove, a plurality of supporting elements, bolts extending through said. supporting elements and said elongated slot opening for securing the same to the under side of said chassis bar; said bolts having their upper portions resting in said elongated groove and terminating below the upper surface of Y said chassis bar, wheels rotatably mounted on said supporting elements, foot supporting platforms, and bolts extending through said foot platforms and said elongated slot opening for securing said foot platforms to the upper side of said chassis bar.

' bar,

2. In a skate, an elongated chassis bar having an elongated longitudinal groove and an elongated slot opening in the center bottom of said elongated groove, a plurality of supporting ele- 3. In a device of the class described, a chassis bar, two fork members slidably adjustably mounted on the bottom of said chassis bar, a wheel rotatab-ly secured to each of said fork members, a supporting member slidably adjust: ably mounted on the bottom of said chassis bar and two wheels rotatably operatively secured to said supporting member, and a means for securing said chassis bar to the foot of the user.

l. Ina device of the class described, a chassis two fork members slidably adjustably mounted on the bottom of said chassis bar, a

' chassis bar, and a means for securing said chassis bar to the foot of the user.

FREEDRIC A. HARRIS. 

